Judge orders man charged with murdering two Corona moviegoers in 2021 to stand trial

RIVERSIDE – A man charged with the murders of two people at a Corona movie theater in 2021 was ordered by a Superior Court judge today, Sept. 2, 2022, to stand trial.

Joseph Jimenez, DOB: 12-6-2000, of El Cerrito, is charged with the murders of Rylee Goodrich, 18, and Anthony Barajas, 19, both of Corona.

Following testimony today at a preliminary hearing at the Hall of Justice in Riverside, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz found sufficient evidence for Jimenez to stand trial on all counts.

The next court date for Jimenez is an information arraignment on Oct. 21, 2022, at 8:30 a.m., in Dept. 53 at the Hall of Justice.

The DA’s Office has charged Jimenez with two counts of murder with a sentencing enhancement of personal use of a firearm causing death. Our office has also filed special circumstance allegations of lying-in-wait and multiple murders. Those special circumstance allegations make Jimenez eligible for the death penalty. DA Mike Hestrin will make the decision whether to seek the death penalty at a later date.

On July 26, 2021, Goodrich and Barajas attended the 9:35 p.m. showing of a movie at theater in Corona. After the movie ended, theater employees went to clean the auditorium and made the horrific discovery that the two victims had been shot in the head. Goodrich was pronounced dead at the scene and Barajas was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.

Jimenez was identified as the shooter and was arrested the next day at a residence in El Cerrito, an unincorporated area outside the city limits of Corona. 

The case, RIF2103205, is being prosecuted by Deputy DAs Brittany Bulthuis and Kevin Beecham of the DA’s Homicide Trial Team.

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